Concluding Admonitions in First Thessalonians

This is an adaptation from Commentary on 1 & 2 Thessalonians.

Now we ask you, brothers, to respect those who work hard among you, who are over you in the Lord and who admonish you. Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other. And we urge you, brothers, warn those who are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone. Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else. Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 5:1-18)

As Paul brings his letter to a close, he offers a number of short instructions. Whether long or short, these are divine precepts, and a serious consideration of the letter would forbid us from quickly passing over them, or to make a general statement about them that ignore the particulars. So when Paul writes, "Give thanks," we are not to regard this as just something good to say, but we are to pause, consider the meaning and significance of this precept, repent of our ingratitude, and give thanks to God in all things. Each item in the passage could generate a full discussion, and although we will not do this in our commentary, some initial effort is better than nothing.

Verses 12-15 provide instructions that are necessary to maintain the strength of a congregation's internal stability as well as its testimony before the world. Paul here refers to the church leaders, the believers, and "everyone else."

Of course church leaders are also believers, but as Paul writes, they are "over you in the Lord." They consist of a small company of individuals among the believers that exercise oversight in the congregation. Christians are to "hold them in the highest regard." In a culture that despises authority, and in which ignorant and incompetent people harbor the delusion that they are equally qualified as everyone else to make pronouncements in matters of religion and morality, this instruction is especially important to maintain proper order in the church, and to prevent it from appearing foolish before the world.

On the other hand, respect for church leaders must be placed upon the proper basis. Some believers hold their leaders in the highest regard not "because of their work," but because of their reputation, appearance, eloquence, or other factors that render their adoration a form of idolatry rather than a healthy respect. They are more tolerant toward those who blaspheme God than those who criticize their favored theologians and preachers. They are as the carnal Corinthians, who would say, "I am of Paul!" or "I am of Peter!" This is sinful, and it is destructive to the cause of Christ.

If believers are to respect their leaders, even hold them in the highest regard because of their work, then these leaders better be faithful in this work. Paul writes that the Christians should "respect those who work hard among you…who admonish you." Church officers who do not work hard, or who do not work hard in the right things and in the right way, should not receive the respect that Paul urges in this passage. Among other things, those who are to be respected work hard to "admonish." They are those who labor to remind and rebuke the believers to follow sound doctrine and pursue holy living.

Some commentators believe that Paul mentions this because there is tension between the leadership and the congregation. Again, the popular hermeneutical assumption that the apostle would bring up a subject only when there is a corresponding problem in the audience is most unwarranted and foolish. One could push the assumption further and assert that whenever Paul calls Jesus the "Lord Jesus Christ," it is because his readers doubt that Jesus is Lord and Christ, or even that whenever Paul mentions God, it is because his readers are atheists. But for some reason, commentators do not say this. The assumption is a stupid invention, and must be discarded and purged from the practice of biblical interpretation. We can be certain that a writer is addressing an existing issue with the readers only when there is actual evidence for it.

Christians are to "live in peace with each other." Believers consist of individuals from different nations, races, genders, and social, financial, and educational backgrounds. When they come together, these difference are not obliterated. When unbelievers are able to maintain unity among themselves, it is because they celebrate their differences and practice tolerance. The basis for this unity is common humanity. In contrast, when believers come together in unity, they practice reconciliation. The basis for this true unity is common faith in Christ.

Unlike the non-Christians, believers should not celebrate their human differences, but they must become secondary. Sometimes Christians adopt an attitude that comes from the world, and that is anti-biblical. They would say that they are proud to be Americans, but that they are united to Christians from other nations through Christ. But why should nationality be emphasized in the first place? Or, others will say that they are proud to be black, but they are united to their white brothers in Christ. But when race rather than faith is in the forefront of your thinking, are you not still carnal? These human differences among believers remain, and it is sometimes helpful to consider them, but they are not celebrated in comparison to our common adoration of Christ. And if anyone boasts, let him not boast in his race or gender, as if a "black" Christian or a "woman" Christian is anything special. But let him who boasts boast in the Lord, for it is he who has chosen and redeemed us.

Our peace is not one that tolerates incompatible principles and practices, but it is one that confronts them and demands their conformity to Christ. Paul tells his converts to "warn those who are idle." We are to disapprove, entreat, reprimand, and even threaten those who do wrong. The basis for this is not the inherent superiority, the strong opinion, or even the mere assertiveness of some believers over others, but it is the authority of Christ, to whom all are accountable. On this same basis, we are to "encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone."

Again, although only brief mention is given to these items that are listed in quick succession, they proceed from divine wisdom and authority, and must be regarded with deliberate attention and obedience. Christians must actually encourage those who are timid, help those who are weak, and so on. They are not intended to be pretty sayings, but believers must act on them. If there is someone idle in your church – if he is able to work but unwilling to work, but sit idle to collect welfare or to receive charity from church members – then warn him. Tell him that he is living in sin, and that he must repent and change. He must find work. Likewise, if there is someone timid among you, go and speak to him. Encourage him, be an example to him, and help him become firm in the faith and bold in his witness for the Lord. These instructions, including "warn those who are idle," are directed to all believers, and not just to the leaders. So the broader principle here is that all believers are to be mobilized in ministry under competent leadership.

The Bible disapproves of one who "pays back wrong for wrong." This is stated variously in a number of places. For example, Paul writes in Romans 12, "Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: 'It is mine to avenge; I will repay,' says the Lord" (v. 17-19). The principle is related to living in peace with everyone. In other words, when Paul tells the believers to live in peace with others, this instruction demands that we do not take revenge on those who wrong us. Peace is destroyed by perpetual retaliation.

However, the principle is not against revenge as such. He says that the reason for believers to refrain from revenge is to "leave room for God's wrath," because God himself said that he wanted to reserve this privilege for himself: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay." Every wrong incurs a debt, and someone must pay. The principle is not that sin incurs no debt, which would be an anti-biblical rejection of the very idea of sin, but the principle is that it is not up to a man to make another man pay. Nevertheless, payment must be rendered, and God says, "It is not up to you to be the debt collector – I will do it." He will either make the sinner pay forever in hell, or he will reckon his debt paid by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. He is the substitute for the chosen ones.

Paul insists on the justice of revenge in his second letter to the Thessalonians, saying, "God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus" (1:6-8). Because Christians have been misinformed on this matter of revenge, we must stress this over and over again. The Bible never teaches against revenge itself, but it teaches that it is not up to us to do it, that it is up to God to do it. In fact, to oppose the idea of revenge is to oppose the idea of justice, the idea that sin incurs debt. Therefore, a person who insists that revenge itself is wrong opposes the atonement, and thus the whole gospel. The minister of the true gospel must affirm and preach that justice demands revenge, that revenge is good and right, and God will be the person who carries it out. He will either make the sinner pay forever, or he will reckon his debt paid by Jesus Christ.

Verse 16-18 tell Christians to rejoice, to pray, and to offer thanks. These items are stated not as attitudes, but as things to do. It is common to suggest that "pray continually" refers to a "prayerful attitude," but this ignores the apostle's teaching. It is understood that the verse does not command us to do these things constantly, in the sense that we must not even pause to eat or sleep, so it is unnecessary to distort them into attitudes in order to make it possible to practice them. They refer to actions. "Be joyful always." Do it – rejoice, and do it all the time. "Pray continually." Do it – do not just have a "prayerful attitude," but engage in prayer. And since he says to do it "continually," he means that we must do a lot of it. Attitude cannot replace action in this verse. "Give thanks in all circumstances." Do it. When something good happens, give thanks. When something bad happens, give thanks. It is good to have a thankful attitude. Turn it into action, and show it by giving thanks. There is no excuse not to do it in a biblical commentary: Thanks be to God, for the gift of Jesus Christ!